Spicy Pumpkin Mini Corn Dogs
I know that upon reading the title of this post, some of you were probably a little skeptical. I mean, pumpkin and corn dogs together in the same sentence? Will the madness ever end? I would like to preface this by saying that these corn dogs are not at all sweet. Whenever we think about pumpkin recipes in general, they tend to be desserts and so because of this we associate pumpkin with sweets, but pumpkin by itself, fresh pumpkin that is, actually leans more on the savory side. There’s a tinge of natural sweetness, much like some of the other squash within the same family, but that’s about it.
I had this crazy idea to make a pumpkin cornbread a couple days ago, and when I was dreaming up the recipe, the idea to turn the batter into corn dogs hit me all of a sudden, and it just might be the greatest idea I’ve ever had…or the craziest, depends who you ask. These Spicy Pumpkin Mini Corn Dogs are a real winner in my book.
Spicy Pumpkin Mini Corn Dogs
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Dutch oven
- Deep-fry thermometer
- Skewers
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 12 hot dogs
- Pumpkin Spice Honey Butter:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 cup grainy mustard for serving
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Fill a large heavy bottomed pot halfway with vegetable oil. Set over medium-high heat and bring up to 365°F, using a deep-fry thermometer.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, oil, honey and egg until smooth. Add the cornmeal, 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, black pepper, chipotle powder, garlic powder, and chili powder and whisk until just combined. Try not to over-beat the batter.
- Cut each hot dog in half and then skewer them with small popsicle sticks or wooden spoons. Roll the skewered hot dogs around in the remaining flour and shake off excess.
- Once the oil is at temperature, dip each hot dog into the corn batter and then carefully drop into the hot oil a few at a time. Fry, turning often, until golden brown and crispy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and place on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Continue to fry the remaining corn dogs.
- To make the honey butter, stir together the butter, honey, salt, chili powder, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Serve the corn dogs with the honey butter and grainy mustard. Enjoy!
